League of

Women Voters

Of Wood County WV

President: Nancy Novak 295-8215

Local Voter: Kathy Stoltz, 295-7880,

LWVWV www.lwvwv.org LWVUS www.lwv.org

Mark Your Calendar

Tues. March 27 Annual Meeting - see below

Mon. April 9 7 pm LWVWC Board Meeting

Wood County Library

Mon. April 23 7 pm Membership Consensus

Meeting on Privatization

See right column

There’s still time

to make a reservation for the

ANNUAL MEETING

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Parkersburg Country Club

6:00 p.m. social (half) hour

Dinner served at 6:30 p.m.

Cost $24/person

Reservation deadline March 21

Guest Speaker, local historian David McKain

·  Thank you to those who have sent in their reservations already.

·  Members who have not made reservations will find a duplicate form enclosed with this Voter.

·  Guests are welcome to attend. The dues reduction of $10 off will apply to new members who join this month.

·  The treasurer will appreciate renewing members who pay their dues for the new League year that starts April 1st at the annual meeting.

Voter

March 2012

LWVUS PRIVATIZATION STUDY

There’s a lot of talk during this campaign season about shrinking the role of government. Still, most of us want the services that our various levels of government provide to continue. The question that arises then is whether the government should continue to provide those services, or could private enterprise do a better job or do the same job at lower cost?

At all levels of government, some operations are conducted by government employees while others are not. Lodges and concessions in public parks are often contracted out to private operators. Toll roads have been privatized. Some cities have turned operation of their water and sewer systems over to private companies. The list is long.

We have examples in our own cities. The city of Parkersburg provides trash collection for its residents, for which they pay the city a fee. Vienna does not. Vienna residents pay a fee to their choice of approved private haulers who collect their trash.

The purpose of the LWVUS study is to identify those parameters and policy issues to be considered in connection with proposals to transfer federal, state or local government services, assets and/or functions to the private sector. It will review the stated goals and the community impact of such transfers, and identify strategies to ensure transparency, accountability, and preservation of the common good. (www.lwv.org)

There are many factors to consider. Who will have oversight to assure that the public’s needs are met? How much transparency must there be in the operation of the private enterprises? Will costs to the public be controlled? Who will monitor working conditions?

Background papers on the various issues surrounding privatization are available at:

http://www.lwv.org/member-resources/privatization

Consensus meeting April 23, 6 pm

Vienna Library

Page 2, LWVWC Voter, March 2012

WV LEGISLATURE

Except for work on the budget, this year’s regular legislative session ended at midnight on March 10. Generally it was described as a “sedate” session, fairly typical in an election year.

A piece of good news for supporters of voters’ rights was the failure of a bill that would require voters to show a photo ID at the polls. There is little or no evidence that this “solution in search of a problem” would accomplish anything more than suppressing turnout among voters least likely to have a state-issued photo ID – the elderly, the poor, and minorities.

Among the bad news is that a bill to extend the term of the pilot project offering public financing for candidates for the Supreme Court of Appeals beyond this year’s elections was not passed. This year one of the eight primary election candidates for the court has opted to participate in public financing. An extension would have allowed a longer trial period for the pilot program.

Two election law bills that are awaiting the governor’s signature did pass. One would allow a longer voter registration period for persons temporarily working overseas, such as members of the military. The other provides for confidentiality on the statewide voter registry regarding the whereabouts of certain people, such as victims of domestic violence.

For a summary of legislative action on issues LWV members may find of interest, look for WV Citizen Action Group’s newsletter “Capitol Eye” later this week at: www.wvcag.org

Annual Meeting March 27

March 2012 Voter

Membership in the LWV is open to all citizens of

voting age. To join the LWVWC, send a check

payable to LWVWC for $40 ($60 for 2 people at

one address) to the LWVWC Treasurer, 1 Fox Hill Dr.,

Parkersburg WV 26104 Write “dues” on the memo line.

We sadly note the recent death of Bob Weiser, husband of our treasurer Marion, and send our sympathies to Marion and her family. Bob was a keen follower of politics and always ready with a chuckle and a wry comment about whatever was making the headlines.

Regretfully, we also note the recent death of Sue Tewksbury, who was president of the LWV of Wood County from 1971-73.